Choice
by Pureauthor
Summary: /Otome/ She sighed. "Well, in the end, it's really your choice and no one else's, Mai. Just make sure you understand the full measure of what you'll be giving up for him."
1. Prologue: Encounter

Choice

* * *

In general, I consider Mai-Otome the anime to be inferior to Mai-HiME the anime. The amount of easily forgiven characters and general plot wankery is rather jarring, as opposed to the original which managed to keep things together more or less until the final episode. (Well, there was the incident with psycho lesbian Shizuru, but nobody likes to talk about that, do they.)

In that regard, I consider Mai-Otome Zwei to be even worse, largely because… look, it's utterly nonsensical, and largely ignores the plot in favour of fanservice. And not in the Mai-Otome manga nonsensical, where all the nonsense is played so endearingly straight that it warps right back around to awesome.

Aaaanyway, fans of the series might note that a certain pair of characters from Mai-HiME never actually showed up. Yeah, I don't like that.

So! The storyline will start of after the Mai-Otome anime proper ends, and while it will indeed take some elements from Mai-Otome Zwei (well, mainly just the one element of Mai running a noodle stand), I consider the events of that four-episode OVA to have never. Happened. In fact, I'm going to be frank here and say that there's relatively little Otome-ish stuff going on here.

Yeesh, four paragraphs and I've haven't even gotten to the basic plot of the story. Okay, folks. You know Otome lose their powers once they have sex, or basically let semen prostrate specific antigen touch them and screw over their nanomachines. Owing to the nature of Otomes as living WMDs and servants of the various ruling powers, this is problematic. One particular Otome, however, is largely free of this issue, the person she is currently bound to not really giving much of a damn whether she actually has superpowers or not.

I think you can figure out where it goes from there.

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

* * *

Prologue: Encounter

* * *

It had started out as an ordinary day.

Waking up early to tend to the noodle shop, she'd proceeded with the usual routine of gathering the necessary materials, getting them up, waiting for the daily shipment of stuff that couldn't be preserved…

It wasn't half bad a way of earning money, and as long as she ensured that Mikoto remained well fed too, there was no complaints from anyone involved. And hey, it provided her with something to _do_.

It then _continued_ on as an ordinary day.

She wasn't a genius at cooking, no matter what Mikoto said, she'd simply had a lot of practice at doing that. More, after the past few years, really.

The lunchtime crowds were beginning to grow, the queues were getting longer, and not for the first time Mai considered Materializing her Robe in order to facilitate faster cooking. As always, she ultimately decided against, reasoning firstly that it would attract attention she didn't really want or need, and secondly, said attention would involve a certain _moniker_ that she utterly, utterly detested.

Oh, well.

"Two bowls of ramen, please, extra chilli sauce for both of them. And two cans of orange soda, as well."

She glanced up at her latest customer. Short, messy, dirty blonde hair is the first thing she noted notice. She quickly noted his face – it's something one picked up on the job quickly, because if someone came up complaining about something it behoved the store seller to remember if she had ever seen the person before and what, if anything, they had ordered.

He struck her as a little plain, at least until she reached over to pluck the money from his hands – there was a scar running up the back of his palm, into his shirtsleeves. She couldn't help the slight widening of her eyes, but she quickly covered it over with a nod.

"Sure, coming right up. Hang on a moment…"

After she'd finished with the preparations for the food, she grabbed a couple of the cans from the freezer – odd, she'd have remembered leaving the door open, wouldn't she? – and passed it along to him.

"Anything else."

"Nope. Thanks." With a nod of thanks, he left to rejoin his friend, who was sitting on a nearby bench.

And so it was that Mai, preoccupied with her next customer, failed to notice anything was odd until the soda from the can exploded in his face with the force one would hold comparable to an average jet.

In retrospect, she really should have been more careful about letting Mikoto poke around the place. She could just imagine the Cat Goddess taking the cans and trying to see what shaking one of them really hard would do…

As she offered a towel to the man and sheepishly offered him a refund (for the drinks anyway. Business was business, after all), he, to his credit, managed a smile and a 'don't worry about it".

Shortly after, he'd finished his meal, and left along with his friend, and Mai had thought no more about the matter. Aside from the one hiccup, it was just one of literally hundreds of such encounters, and nothing about it seemed particularly special.

Or, well, so it seemed at the time, anyway.

* * *

**Prologue End**

* * *

I admit that my memory of Mai-Otome canon isn't the best, and so I might fudge up some of the stuff. If that happens, well, you can let it slide or you can correct me. Your choice!

Well, this is going to be a multichapter fic, as you should be able to tell, so here's to hoping I get the next update out soon.

Thanks for reading.


	2. Chapter 1: Invitation

Choice

* * *

Just as a heads up, I don't plan on this story being particularly long, mainly following a standard romantic arc without lots of sideplots or whatever. I'm aiming to clock this in at five chapters, not including the prologue, but given the way I work, it could fluctuate a bit.

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

* * *

Well, the work for the day was done. It had taken her a little longer than normal to burn through the day's stock, but no harm, no foul. If she hurried, she could still be home in time to make Mikoto dinner before she got _too_ cranky.

As she rounded the street corners and ducked into a back alley, she subconsciously picked at her pouch and sifted through the day's earnings. Given her ward's (the status on who was the master of their relationship could be a bit blurred at times… until she got into an actual fight with her, anyway) ability to consume enormous amounts of food on a daily basis, it was probably a good thing that business was currently booming. If nothing else, it allowed for better quality ingredients.

"Hey, that'sh a naish bundle 'o cash yas gots dere."

She vaguely recognized the words being spoken as being the same language that she was most familiar with, and a quick glance upwards revealed a trio shambling towards her who were, to put it bluntly, completely and utterly sloshed.

Not for the first time, she cursed Natsuki for deciding that the Black Valley was the perfect place to open a commercial park with the primary purpose of amassing more funds for Garderobe. Especially since the general lack of quality control had resulted in far too many pubs springing up all over the place.

"It's barely past eight." She growled. "Don't you dopes have anything better to do than get yourselves so drunk you can't walk straight?"

For whatever reason the remark struck them as being hilarious, and they spent several long seconds roaring with laughter. Just when Mai was about to reach the point of her patience getting exhausted, the closest of them lurched forward with an expression that somehow managed to combine the worst aspects of a leer and a snarl.

"Here'sh da ting, mishy. We don' gotsh no more cash, shee? And 'em bartenders, they's alwaysh wantin' mor' cash, cuz dey're shtingy. Even fr'm respetababble gentsh like ush!" The last words were said almost as a cry of outrage, and the other two joined in with cries along the lines of 'here, here!' Or they may have just been giggling – she couldn't really tell.

"Sho, we needsh shome more munny – an' right quick! And you… you got some riiiight there." He stumbled forward again, and Mai felt her eyebrow twitch.

"You're right. I happen to have money on hand because I _earned_ it. You should try doing that sometime." Pushing past these three idiots would be unpleasant, but this _was_ the shortest route home. Before she could move, however, there was the distinctive clicking sound of a switchblade being popped out, and the leader of the three stooges was waving it in her general direction.

"Not sho fasht. Shee this ting here? It'sss nice and sharp, yesh it is. You dun wanna go making me angry, nosir you don't?" The redhead was starting to suspect that the men had already suffered some from head injury before ever letting a drop of alcohol past their lips. Subconsciously, she shifted her weight to cover herself better. There was no need to bother with her Robe – given the fact that the guy threatening her was looking off her to right as he spoke, she suspected that she stood fairly good odds of coming out of the whole thing unscathed even if she just stood still.

However, before she could begin the process of disabling the trio (not to mention giving them the mother of all headaches for the next morning), another voice floated across towards the small knot of people.

"I wouldn't bother her, if I were you."

Mai glanced over her shoulder at the newcomer, and her eyes widened in surprise. It was the man that she had indirectly ended up spraying with soda from earlier in the day. Strolling up to the tightly huddled pack of them, he shook his head. "Now, technically, you gentlemen," she noticed the look that ghosted across his face as he said so. "Haven't done anything illegal _yet_, so if you turn around and go home right now, it'll be no harm, no foul, okay?"

Apparently undaunted by the evening of numbers, Switchblade growled. "I gotsh shix inches o' steel that shays yoush back off!" He raised the weapon in what he apparently believed was a threatening gesture.

The man stared at the knife for a moment before nodding. Even in the darkness of the alleyway, she saw a wry smile on his face. "Very well. I'll see your six and raise you thirty five." As he spoke, he tucked his jacket back, letting his arm come to rest on the sword hilt – wait, a sword hilt? – and drew the blade out with what appeared a suitably theatrical flourish.

Mai blinked. Somehow she had completely missed seeing that on him. Had he been wearing it back in the afternoon? She couldn't remember.

Whenever he had chosen to strap the weapon to his belt, there was no denying the effect it had on the three drunkards. There's nothing like a good shock of good clean fear to sober you up very quickly.

There was a tense silence on both sides for a long, drawn out moment. And then the trio turn and fled without a word.

She sighed and shook her head, running a hand through her hair. "Well, that's that. Thanks for coming to my rescue, sir knight in shining armour." She grinned slightly.

"Rescue nothing. The three of them wouldn't be a match for you." He replied in an offhand manner as he returned his weapon to its sheathe.

"Oh?"

"The way you shifted your stance when preparing to knock them over their heads – only someone who knows what she's doing does it so fluidly. You could have laid them flat without batting an eye, couldn't you?"

She chuckled and folded her arms. "Maybe. And I guess only someone who knows what _he's_ doing would have been able to spot that." She tilted her head slightly. "So, if you knew I could've beaten them off, why'd you jump in?"

He pressed a palm to his chest in mock outrage. "What, a royal palace guard of Windbloom leaving a fair maiden in distress to the tender mercies of hoodlums and miscreants? Surely you jest!"

She laughed for a moment, before the pertinent words registered. "Windbloom? You mean – oh, you're a guard there!" Well, that explained the sword, at least.

He waved it off. "Yeah, but it's mostly ceremonial nowadays for the fancy events. Any serious fighting always gets left to the Otomes." She thought she caught a flicker of something – resentment? – in his eyes, but the gloom made it difficult to tell for certain.

"…Yeah. The Otomes really are a breed apart, aren't they." She said softly, wondering if he'd noticed her earring. Probably not. Okay, best not to dwell on it. "So, uh, what are you doing now?"

A frown crossed his face. "Well, I was _looking_ for lodging for the night, but apparently all the inns are full. And the guy I came here with – the guy who convinced me to spend my leave out here because it was good to socialize – left one of the pubs with a woman wrapped around his arm, so I don't think sharing a room with him is going to be an option." He paused, scratching his head. "Hey, uh, you know the place, right? Any inns around here that aren't bursting at the seams come nightfall?"

She shook her head apologetically. "Maybe after the boom dies down – this place still has that new paint smell, after all." She paused, evaluating her options. Well, she was fairly certain Mikoto wouldn't mind that much, so… "I could put you up for the night, if you want."

He glanced up with interest. "Really? You would?"

"Hey, least I can do to repay my gallant rescuer, right?" She chuckled and replied with wry irony. "But, we gotta hurry – Miko- uh, my roommate doesn't like it when dinner's late."

"Right." He nodded. "Lead the way, then."

* * *

"I'd be lying if I said I wasn't impressed." He commented as the two of them stood in front of the elaborate temple, adorned with dozens of oriental drawings.

"You should have seen it before." Mai shook her head. "They renovated the whole place to make it fit what they thought a temple in the middle of a theme park should look like. Mikoto damn near popped a vein. It took me and three others to hold her down long enough to explain everything to her."

"Mikoto? Ah, you mean your roommate."

"Well, not exactly. She's kinda, uh…" Mai paused, unsure of how to say it. "Let's just say she's this place's cornerstone, okay?"

Any clarification that he might have been requesting was cut off by a tiny blur impacting with Mai at high velocity as she stepped through the doorway. Only the fact that she was more or less used to this prevented her from being knocked off her feet.

"Mai!" Mikoto cheered. "You're back! I was _lonely_ without you all day, you know?"

"I know, I know." Mai chuckled as she patted the Goddess on the head. "Sorry I'm late. I'll get started on dinner right away."

"Okay!" She nodded. Then she shifted her gaze towards the guy standing in the door. "…Um, who's this?"

"Oh, he helped me back in town, so I invited him over to stay for the night since he can't get lodging. He's, uh…" She paused. "You know, I never did get your name."

He smiled and nodded. "Yeah, I guess you didn't. I'm Yuuichi. Yuuichi Tate. It's nice to meet you, Mikoto." As he spoke, he held out his hand for her to shake, which she did so with the barest trace of hesitation.

"You're staying… here?" She questioned, a frown on her face.

"Well, just for tonight."

She nodded once, and then turned around. Mai was on the verge of dismissing it when she felt a pair of hands latching onto her breasts. Predictably, she let out a yelp of surprise.

"Just remember that these are _**MINE**_."

"M – Mikoto!" As quickly as she could, she yanked the offending arms away from her body, and noted with no small amount of unhappiness that Yuuichi was staring at the both of them, a dumbfounded expression on his face.

Quickly turning away so that he couldn't see her entire face flashed scarlet, she hurried towards what served as the kitchen for the place, cursing the ill luck the gods had chosen to bestow upon her.

* * *

"Alright, here you go. Fried rice, tonight." She placed the bowl in front of Yuuichi, and he nodded in a brief show of thanks.

"So how much do I owe you?" He said softly.

"I dunno, what's the market rate?" She laughed in response. "As if I would make a guest pay for the meals." She trailed off, swallowed. "By the way, about just now…"

She could see his face reddening. Well, no surprise.

"Look, don't mind Mikoto, okay? She's… not really used to people."

"Yeah, look, it – it's no big deal." He shook his head as he took the first spoonful of the rice, and his nodded appreciatively. "You're a great cook, you know. This afternoon's ramen was fantastic too."

"Heh. I've had practice." She stood. "I've got to go help, Mikoto, so – you're fine with this room, right?"

"Hm? Oh, yeah, sure." He smiled. "I've never actually slept on tatami mats before – I guess it'll be an experience."

"Yes, well – the lights out bell rings at ten, and uh, that's it, I guess." She paused at the doorway and turned her head back. "Good night, Yuuichi."

"Good night, Mai."

* * *

**Chapter End**

* * *

Writing for Mikoto is always really hard. I always have to make sure to strike a balance between someone with very little social skills, but is by no means retarded or stupid.

Ah, well. Thanks for reading. Please review.


	3. Chapter 2: Relation

Choice

* * *

Hey, everybody. Sorry about the wait, but I hope this chapter makes up for it.

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

* * *

Mai yawned and stretched as she climbed out of the bed. Getting all the foodstuffs for her noodle stand ready usually necessitated early rising times, especially since an inordinate number of people seemed to like having ramen for breakfast in the early morning. She had chalked it up to it being nothing more than a slight quirk, although in her more generous moments she was willing that acknowledge that her cooking was indeed very good, enough to draw a few out of bed early in the morning.

First priority, however, was making sure Mikoto herself had food enough for the day – relatively speaking, anyway. By now it was a simple routine, one that Mai could simply let her subconscious take over as she began preparing the meals. As she continued, she found herself humming an indistinct tune from memory.

Her job finished, she quickly stuffed the food into a fridge and set out for her stall.

As she walked past the guest room, she found herself hesitating. Yuuichi was probably still inside, and it was rather early, so she didn't feel like disturbing him, but hospitality tended to demand that you not leave the guest to his own devices when he or she awoke.

_I'll just take a look. If he's still sleeping then I'll leave a note on the door or something._ And with that, she slid the door open, peeking into the room.

It was empty.

She stepped back, blinked, and mentally tried to run through the list of plausible places that he could be at this point in time and came up with a blank. Why would he have left so early – before the sun had even risen? Had he… She frowned. The temple itself wasn't very prosperous, but there _were_ several artefacts around that dated back a rather long time and were potentially valuable.

He wouldn't have tried to gain her confidence only to make off with those valuables, would he? It wasn't like she had a world class security system (or a security system, for that matter), and it would have been child's play for him to sneak off in the middle of the-

"Hey."

She spun around fast enough to disorient herself momentarily and raised her arms at Yuuichi appearing behind her.

"You're up early." He commented. "I guess it's normal for people running food stalls, huh."

"W – what about you?" She stammered, trying to cover up the fact that he had taken her completely by surprise. "Why weren't you in your room?" As she said this, she reflected unhappily on how much she sounded like a mother scolding a petulant child – definitely _not_ the imagery she wanted to invoke.

He rubbed his head sheepishly. "I was looking for the restroom. This place is pretty big, y'know."

Whoops. She had completely forgotten about that…

"And I usually also get out of bed pretty early as well. Military training and all that. It gets to be a habit after a while," He chuckled. "Even when I'm supposed to be on vacation."

"Heh. Yeah, I guess. Back in the academy I always…" She trailed off as she realized that she might not want to reveal herself as being an Otome. At least, not just yet.

"The academy?" He was now looking at her with a questioning expression on her face.

"Oh, you know, school and all that." She waved it off as quickly as possible. "They were a bit strict though, so I got into the habit of waking up early as well."

He nodded and left it at that. "So, I take it you're headed to your noodle stand?"

"Yeah, I-" She glanced around. "In fact, I think I might be running a little late."

"Hm. Well, would you mind if I went with you?"

She hesitated for a moment. But in the end, there really wasn't any reason to say no, was there? "No, of course I wouldn't." She smiled.

And he smiled back.

* * *

"So, you've been here a while, have you?"

"A few years, give or take." Mai replied in the distracted way that people do when they're occupied with other mundane tasks. "I used to know these woods pretty well before I came to settle down here. And then of course it got turned into some watered down theme park, which I'm really not too happy about, but hey, lemons, lemonade and all that." Dumping the soup stock into the pan to boil, she quickly turned and reached for the dried noodles. Given the variety of ingredients that could go into ramen, stocking up was more or less essential if she wanted to keep the customers happy, and given that stores like hers tended to rely on repeat customers.

A brief clatter behind her alerted her to the fact that Yuuichi, apparently not content with sitting on the sidelines and doing nothing, was helping her rearrange the various boxes, woks, and other implements that tended to clutter up the inside of a food stall run by a single person.

"Eh – ah, don't worry about that!" She said quickly. "I've been meaning to clear them up soon anyway…"

He gave her an easy grin. "Then might as well let me get a head start on them, huh? Don't worry about it – it's not like anything here is particularly heavy or anything."

"Well, yeah, but – it's my job to deal with my own stuff. And aren't you on vacation anyway?"

At this, Yuuichi straightened out, a questioning look in his eyes. "Uh, okay, seriously, I'm just trying to help you. Is there something wrong?"

"No, it's just –" Mai heaved a sigh as she turned back to cooking. "It's just… let me handle my own affairs, all right? I don't like feeling like I owe people."

The guard was silent for a few moments before giving a shrug and a nod. "If you say so."

She gave a small smile. "Thanks for wanting to help out, though. I've been forced to be self-sufficient for so long that, well, it's a little jarring when someone just starts helping me."

"Self-sufficient?" Yuuichi raised an eyebrow. "This place is pretty packed. You mean you don't have many friends?"

"Well, it is _now_. But back before Garderobe decided to turn this place into a tourist attraction, it was just the Black Valley. Mikoto's… well, she's fun to be around and she can take care of herself when need be, but I had learn how to do things on my own."

"So, you were living here before it became… like this?" He waved his hand vaguely about to punctuate his point. "It was a large forest, wasn't it?"

"Yes, but it wasn't all bad, really." Mai sighed. "It… just got a bit lonely at times."

The knight was silent, while Mai wondered about how she had portrayed herself to him. Well, she couldn't really fault him if he thought her situation odd – and he didn't even know the circumstances that had led her to _be_ in this situation in the first place.

"Well," she finally said, breaking the silence. "What do you plan on doing, then? I mean, I'm glad you're here to keep me company and all, but you're not going to be hanging around the whole day, are you?"

"No, I guess I'm not." He rubbed the back of his head. "I really haven't had the chance to enjoy the park yet, so I'll head on down and see what else they have to offer – once the thing opens up, anyway." Aside from the other vendors setting up their stalls in preparation for the day ahead, the place was as empty. "And of course I've to look for my friend too. Takeda really gets himself into whole lot more trouble than he should. But…" He shrugged. "That can wait until the sun rises, at least."

"I suppose." Mai cast a glance over at the horizon, where the first faint streaks of grey in the otherwise pitch black sky heralded the oncoming dawn. "It'll be dawn soon."

Afterwards, the conversation simply trailed off as she continued her work.

* * *

It hadn't really been a surprise to her when Yuuichi had returned to her stand at lunchtime, nor when he ordered another bowl of her noodles alongside a crack that she must have been adding some kind of addictive substance to the food.

She smiled, gave him his meal, asked a couple of question about how his search for his friend was going – not so well, as it turned out - and that had been the end of the matter, for the moment.

Later, after the day's work had been done, she hadn't been surprised to see him relaxing on a bench near the stall, as if he had been waiting to say goodbye to her. She'd briefly felt a twinge of unhappiness as she and her new friend parted ways, but it wasn't as if the Windbloom palace was _that_ far from the park – they could visit each other if they wanted to at any time.

And so, with a wave goodbye, he walked off into the distance, heading back home.

* * *

The next time he showed up was a couple weeks later, with his friend in tow. For whatever reason his friend wasn't as enamoured with her ramen as Yuuichi himself was, but that was okay – everyone had different tastes, after all. Still, she _did_ glean a fair bit of enjoyment from Yuuichi arguing with Takeda over whether or not her noodles tasted better with soy sauce.

After Takeda had left, saying that he had other, better things to do, Yuuichi had hung around, waiting for the few moments when she was relatively free to talk to her. In the process, he gleaned from her the information that she usually closed the shop on Sundays and Thursdays, whereupon he asked if he was free to visit her during those days and of course she said yes. It was nice having someone who came by with anything approaching regularity – Takumi was too busy trying to deal with all the problems in Zipang to visit, ditto Mashiro with Windbloom and Arika, as her Otome, was expected to always be by her side unless on an official mission, and somehow Mai didn't think that a visit to the local theme park fell under that category. As for Natsuki… well, running Garderobe was a trying affair at the best of times – and a smile graced her face as she remembered the trouble she'd put herself and her friends through back when they were Corals and Pearls.

She vaguely remembered that that day had ended with someone getting into trouble over stealing underwear, and Yuuichi dragging his friend out of the park with a face like thunder, but she decided that it wasn't something she wanted to get herself involved in, and returned back to cooking.

* * *

"So, did you have something special in mind when you invited me out on this little jaunt?"

"Well, I thought you might want some different cuisine from what they usually make available in the area, so I got us some reservations at a restaurant for lunch. It's not that far from here."

"Hm. That _does_ sound nice."

"So, are you a fan of Zipang cuisine?"

She chuckled. "As it so happens, sir knight, I hail from the fair land of Zipang, so I suppose I _would_ be rather familiar with its dishes."

"Oh, good for you. A taste of home, then."

"I suppose." They stopped in front of a white building. "Is this the place?"

"Indeed it is. Shall we?"

"We shall." She nodded.

(X)

"You really like your oyster sauce, don't you?" Yuuichi grinned as he watched Mai wolf down her food.

"Uh huh. Here, try it with the ginger beef. It's _heavenly_." Picking up several strips of the tender meat with her chopsticks, she placed them on his plate, watching expectantly as he it into them.

"You ever try cooking these?" He raised an eyebrow.

"If I can get meat of a good enough quality." Mai shrugged. "It's not as easy as you'd think, especially when you're on a tight budget."

"Yeah," Yuuichi sighed sympathetically. "I know the feeling of trying to balance the budget."

"Y – you do? But you're a palace guard. Back in Zip – I mean, you're protecting royalty! Your pay should be pretty good, right?"

He gave a derisive snort. "Sure. 'Protecting'. Maybe if a Slave showed up I could distract it for a couple of seconds and buy some time until the Otome arrive." He sighed. "Like I said before, we're kept around mostly for tradition. Standards are pretty lax all around, we basically just guard gates and doors… and of course our pay reflects that."

"…" She lowered her head. "Not… not to sound too rude or anything, but if being a royal guard isn't all that, then… why don't you find some other job?"

He raised and lowered one shoulder. "Like I said, tradition. My family line's gone a long way back as royal guards. About three, four generations ago though, it started going downhill."

Mai was silent for a few more seconds. "You don't blame the Otome, do you?" She finally asked.

"Well, no." He frowned. "Maybe a little. I don't know. They've got a job, same as us. Only they're very, very good at it." Then his features relaxed somewhat and he chuckled. "Of course, you can't say that they've got it all their way either. I mean, the whole 'can't enter a relationship' thing must grate a bit."

_Well, technically, it's can't enter a relationship with a __**guy**__, but…_ Mai let that thought trail off. Going too deep into her friend's personal affairs probably wasn't the best of ideas.

Yuuichi shook his head "Well, this conversation took a serious turn," he said, a note of levity entering his voice. "This Otome stuff doesn't have much to do with us, so let's forget about that for now, okay? The next dish's here."

"So it is." Mai plastered a smile on her face as she mentally wondered if it was possible to feel more awkward than she did just then. With a mental shrug, she picked up her chopsticks and returned to her meal.

* * *

"Thanks for the food. _And_ for footing the bill." Mai grinned at Yuuichi as they exited the restaurant.

"Don't worry about it."

"I'm not worrying. I'm just offering you a free meal in return."

"That's nice. You mean from your stall?"

"You'd prefer I drag you out somewhere? I think we could arrange something."

"Heh. Nah, I was just kidding. The stall's fine – I love your cooking."

"Glad to hear it." Mai paused and glanced over at the setting sun. "Anyway, I have to get home soon – Mikoto can get cranky if I stay out too late."

"Right, well, I'll leave you to it, then."

"See you."

Despite what she said, she continued watching as Yuuichi walked of before rounding the corner. After a moment, she realized what she was doing and smacked herself on the forehead.

"Oh, hell," she muttered. "I'm not _falling_ for him, am I?"

* * *

**Chapter End**

* * *

Thanks for reading. Please review.


	4. Chapter 3: Reunion

Choice

* * *

New chapter's here! And a bit of expansion in focus towards the rest of Mai-Otome's cast.

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

* * *

The thought stuck with her like an annoying fly the next few days – no matter how much she tried to ignore it or wave it off as something else, the uneasy feeling that something more than friendship between her and the royal guard was beginning to form.

She supposed most other women would have found it something pleasant, but then again Otome weren't 'most other women'. Otome couldn't have relationships with males, and that was that.

…Or so she kept telling herself in a largely futile effort to stop _thinking about him_. Which, well, wasn't working.

As evidenced by her usage of the word 'futile' in the line before that, and hoo boy, was it ever – whenever she tried to focus on something, _anything_, it would still invariably end up drifting Yuuichi with his easy laugh and GAHHHHH stopitstopitSTOPIT!

"Excuse me, miss?

"Huh? Oh, uh, I'm sorry, how can I help you?" She turned to regard her newest customer.

"Well, it's been some time since I placed my order, and I was just wondering if my food was ready."

"Oh, right. Sorry about that. Let's see… you ordered the beef noodles…" Hurriedly, she handed the bowl over to him, a sheepish smile on her face as she did so.

Wondering about Yuuichi himself wasn't _quite_ so bad, but the combination of thinking about him and trying not to think about him was driving her to the point of distraction. Even Mikoto had noticed her behaving oddly these past few days, even if there was no way _she'd_ ever learn why.

She heaved a frustrated sigh… sooner or later, something had to give. And she fervently hoped that it wasn't going to be herself.

* * *

Yuuichi still paid visits to her stall rather frequently, and now it was usually a case where she couldn't really decide whether she was happy or upset at his presence. On one hand she felt a faint pleasurable twinge whenever he showed up, and on the other hand she was actively trying to suppress that twinge whenever _it_ showed up and as a result she just felt really, really crappy.

Which was bad enough on its own but it tended to translate to her not being able to properly focus on her cooking, which in turn led to a downturn to the quality of the product, and by extension, several dissatisfied customers.

Yuuichi had been honest enough to tell her that something felt off with her latest bowls – and while she appreciated him trying to phrase it in as polite a manner as possible, it hadn't stopped her but acting grumpy about it. Not to mention that after tasting it for herself, she had to admit that, yes, perhaps it _was_ a bit too salty.

"Pay up." She finally said as she swallowed the mouthful.

"Huh?"

"You want _this_ to be your free meal?" She made a face. "You can come back when I'm actually on the ball for once."

He'd chuckled. "What, I don't get _two_ of them?"

"You are talking to an unhappy woman who happens to be holding a bowl full of noodles and hot soup. To tempt my ire would be most unwise."

"All right, all right." He forked over the requested money. "I'm actually a bit surprised. Has there been anything distracting you lately, Mai?"

_Yes. You._ "No, I don't think so. Maybe I just haven't been getting enough sleep lately."

"Mm." Yuuichi nodded sympathetically. "I know what it's like. You're in a total funk the whole day, you can't concentrate on anything, and at the end of the day it's like your strings have been cut and you just collapse. I guess we've all had days like that."

_I did __**not**__ intend that to segue into a bonding time speech._ Mai sighed. "So I take it you'd rather finish up the bowl instead of tossing it away?"

"Of course!" He grinned. "Just because it's not as good as the usual doesn't mean it's not good." Reclaiming his meal, he continued tucking into it with every sign of enjoyment.

Mai sighed, rubbed the bridge of her nose, and returned to work.

* * *

It was a few days later that _they_ showed up.

Under ordinary circumstances, Mai would have had no objections whatsoever to their appearance. In fact, she would have been happy to see the faces of friends that she hadn't seen in a while – especially since conflicting schedules meant that they could only meet once in a blue moon. And that was how things turned out – at the start, anyway.

"Mai!" The calm, gentle voice of Shizuru floated across, a smile gracing her features. "It's been a while, hasn't it?"

"Shizuru!" The redhead grinned back. "How're things at the Academy? Did Natsuki come along too?"

"Oh, yes, she's reserving our seats." Shizuru glanced around the stall. "So, how're things? This old shack enough to keep you in business?"

"Of course!" Mai beamed. "You'd doubt my ability to draw in customers? Today's actually a bit slower than normal." She glanced around. "Anyway, what brings you two out here?"

"Well, we thought we could use the break." Natsuki commented wryly as she made her way to the counter. "We just got a new bunch of spitfires that remind me _way_ too much of us when we were young."

"Ouch." Mai clucked her tongue sympathetically. "In which case I'd suggest alcohol. My ramen's sedative properties aren't _quite_ strong enough."

"Really. And here I was hoping for more of an energy boost." Natsuki sighed as she plucked at a piece of fluff from her jacket. "Anyway, I'll take the prawn nood-"

"Hey, Mai!" Mai glanced to the side and felt her stomach lurch. Yuuichi was walking up to her, a smile on his face. As he got closer, he caught sight of Natsuki and Shizuru. "Oh, ah, sorry. I didn't notice you were there."

"Oh, it's no problem, really." Shizuru said graciously. "You're a friend of Mai as well?" With a coy smile, she turned over to Mai. "Say, Mai, why don't you introduce us?"

At that point in time, Mai, could see several screamingly obvious red flags – and no easy way of avoiding them. For one thing, there was no way, _no way_ her friends were going to let the implications of her forming a friendship with a guy behind their backs go, and they would be _merciless_ about it. But more importantly, there was no way to introduce Natsuki and Shizuru to Yuuichi without letting slip that they were Otomes, and that she, by extension, was one too.

And so she hesitated, the words stuck in her throat. Okay, okay, maybe she could go for the 'extremely brief and lacking in details' introduction and hope that all sides involved took the hint.

"Yuuichi, Natsuki and Shizuru. Natsuki, Shizuru, this is Yuuichi."

…Yeah, that did _not_ come out at all how she'd intended it.

Oh crap, now Natsuki was giving her the "I know what you're thinking" smirk that Mai had always _hated_ receiving back in school. Made worse by her sneaking suspicion that Natsuki did not in fact know what Mai was worried about just then, but she was still shooting too damn close for comfort.

As the redheaded Otome fretted away, Natsuki turned towards Yuuichi with a nod. "A pleasure to meet you. And if I may ask, how did you come to know Mai?"

"Hm? Oh, I helped her chase off some thugs a while back. One thing led to another, and, well, here we are."

"I see." Natsuki shot Mai a look, one with a clear 'Oh you are _so_ going to tell me all about this later' implication that Mai found impossible to miss.

"Anyway, I'm sorry, but I've gotta go. I've got an assignment, and I only stopped here for a quick lunch first…"

"Oh is that so?" Shizuru glanced up. "Well, if that's the case, you go on first. We're here to relax, after all. We can wait."

"Really? Thanks!" Giving the both of them a grateful nod, Yuuichi quickly placed his order to a bemused Mai, as the two women stepped back slightly.

* * *

The instant Yuuichi was out of earshot, they pounced.

"The story. _Now_." Shizuru was smirking. Mai hated it when Shizuru was smirking. It usually meant either her or Natsuki was going to be feeling awkward and embarrassed for a goodly portion of time.

And given that Natsuki was currently as close to smirking as she ever got as well, and Mai felt a rather uncomfortable feeling in her stomach.

"H – Yuuichi's just a friend. Like he said, he helped me out and we got to know each other a bit more."

Shizuru traded a _look_ with Natsuki. Natsuki nodded sagely.

"Stuttering, a brief pause, being painfully vague when being pressed for information…" Natsuki shook her head. "Honestly, Mai, I'd never have pegged you as the type to fall for a guy just like that."

"I – I have _not_ 'fallen for a guy'!" She sputtered. "He's a friend! That's it!"

"Blushing…" Natsuki continued down a checklist apparently only she could see. "Stammering _again_…"

"All right, all right." Shizuru sighed. "If nothing else, you seem rather… uncomfortable." She frowned. "If I had to guess… I'd say… ah! You're not _sure_!"

Mai paused, sighed. "Fine. You're correct. I'm not sure about how I feel. Satisfied?"

Her red-eyed friend clapped her hands together. "Oh, no need to worry, Mai! Natsuki and I went through _exactly_ the same thing! You can feel free to ask us _anything_."

"No need to worry?" Natsuki was frowning now as she shifted her gaze to Mai. "Yuuichi's a _guy_, you know. If you really… well, _you know_, then there's going to be trouble down the line."

"Oh, my." Shizuru was serious now, as well. "It looks like the legend of the Tragic Meister may be coming true after all."

"Don't call me that." Mai said automatically. But even as she sighed and turned away, she felt a heaviness in her heart that she wasn't sure she understood.

* * *

Ugh. I finally get time to write, and the current chapter's such a short one. Hopefully I'll be able to make it up before too long, though…

Thanks for reading.


	5. Chapter 4: Revelation

Choice

* * *

Last update over two months ago. I really need to get on the ball with this sort of thing.

Thanks for sticking with this little story of mine.

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

* * *

Mai was currently lying on the rooftop of the temple that she now called home, staring at the sky. It wasn't something she did very often – mostly when she had things to ponder.

She heaved a long sigh before standing. That she had an attraction to Yuuichi was undeniable, or, at least, becoming harder and harder to deny, which extended to an unspecified amount of time, more or less resulted in the same thing.

Right. Okay. That was step one dealt with. The second issue, was that there was obviously a _problem_ with her attraction to Yuuichi. Namely, the fact that she, being an Otome, was not _supposed_ to be attracted to him.

Of course, she reflected, she was barely connected to Garderobe any more, and in the back of her mind she knew none of the administrative staff there would care very much if the nanomachines in her body ceased functioning. Well, they might demand the return of the Fire Stirring Ruby, of course, but it really held no sentimental value to her. Any such an unease on her part concerning them was largely due to her upbringing and how she'd grown used to Garderobe being a major factor in her life choices.

Not that even _that_ had been true as of late, of course. Mai chuckled as she shifted her gaze to the left – Mikoto would be sleeping by now – of course somewhat discontented at there being a lack of Mai to hug as she went to bed, but the Cat Goddess was used to it, as long as it didn't happen _too_ often.

Of course, that led to another complication with her whole 'being attracted to Yuuichi' thing. Mikoto was _not_ going to take well to the idea of having to 'share' Mai with someone she viewed a stranger. And Mai knew that if the Goddess ever got angry enough to physically attack Yuuichi, she wasn't going to be able to do a damn thing about it, Otome or no.

Right, then. _More_ reasons why she shouldn't be thinking about pursuing a relationship with the Royal Guard. Which just made it all the more irritating that she still couldn't help herself.

With a sigh, she stood.

A short while later, a orange blaze carved itself throughout the night air. She didn't do this very often, to be honest, but once in a while, whenever she felt like she was in a funk, flying through the night sky looking down at the sleeping populace tended to help clear her mind of worries and doubts.

What to do? She didn't know. All the options open to her (not that there appeared to be particularly many of them) had their own crippling drawbacks, and she didn't feel wise enough to make the decision on her own.

Not that she _had_ to make them on her own, of course. Mai shifted her gaze to the general direction of Garderobe. She could always ask her friends for advice.

How useful the advice would prove to be, of course, was still up for debate.

* * *

"I dunno. Why are you asking _me_?" Natsuki looked up, her face hazy and distorted from the steam wafting up from the hot spring.

"Because." Mai replied as she lowered herself into the heated pool with a sigh. "I just figure you're more experienced at this sort of thing than I am. You know, with-"

Natsuki coughed. "Yes, but, well, Mai, you might have noticed that my, uh, relationship doesn't really get in the way of me fulfilling my duties as an Otome."

Mai couldn't help but quirk a smile at how straight-laced Natsuki was over this sort of thing. She leaned back against the polished rock wall of the pool, letting the pleasant heat work its way through her body, and after a couple of minutes she spoke again.

"Okay, then. Let me put it a different way then. If you had to choose between being an Otome or Shizuru…" Mai paused for a moment. "Which would you take?"

Natsuki sighed and leaned back in her place. She was silent for a long while, so long that Mai was beginning to wonder if she had in fact fallen asleep when she sighed and spoke up again.

"I want to say the _right_ answer, but to be frank…" The dark haired woman shook her head slowly. "They've both been parts of my life for so long, that I'm not really sure I could answer. Either one… either one would need me to start building my life from scratch all over again."

Mai sighed. "Well, then maybe you know a little about how I feel."

"It's not like you don't have your own advantages too, you know." Natsuki glanced over. "I'm head of Garderobe. There're times when I wish I could just drop off all the responsibility and run away, but…" She shrugged. "They need me. You're different. You're sequestered somewhere in the forest selling noodles and no one needs you."

"Except Mikoto."

"Well… yes." Natsuki shook her head. "At the end of the day, it's really your choice and no one else's, Mai. Just… make sure you know absolutely what you're going to be giving up for him."

* * *

"Well, that was a lot of help." Mai mumbled glumly to herself as she mixed up the latest batch of noodle broth. Natsuki had basically given her an answer that boiled down to 'it's your life, isn't it?'

Which had been more-or-less mirrored in her conversation with Shizuru, who had pointed that out that exactly one person in the entire universe knew exactly how Mai felt for Yuuichi Tate – Mai herself. And so while she would be perfectly willing to offer advice, all of it had to come with the disclaimer that it simply wouldn't apply to her.

Which was true, she supposed, even if it did absolutely nothing to help her sort out what she wanted.

Gods above, (and bunking with her, she supposed), why couldn't life have remained simple, like before? She had been happy, more or less, hadn't she? But now, with this new (for lack of a better term) development, retreating back to her old life would simply leave her upset and confused.

"Ugh." She muttered to herself as she finished the latest concoction and poured it into a bowl, ready for it to be served.

"What should I do?" Her relatively isolated life had left her with precious few people she could turn to for mentors. Her closest friend was… well, not very well versed in the normal functioning of society, and her relatively carefree and lackadaisical view of life meant that she wouldn't be able to relate to her friend's problems.

This despite the fact that Mikoto herself _was_ a huge source of anxiety for Mai. Given Mikoto's rather blatant affection for the fire-wielding Otome, it wasn't a stretch to imagine that she would be upset at the prospect of having to 'share', especially with a guy she was so unfamiliar with. And if she got angry enough to get physical… As the thought ghosted through her mind yet again, Mai suppressed a shudder.

Still, there was no way Mikoto would ever attempt to seriously harm someone just because Mai liked him, right?

Right?

"Miss, I'd like a bowl of curry ramen, with extra chilli, please."

Mai sighed, pasted a smile on her face, and turned to the latest customer. "Got it, I'm coming."

* * *

Night. Mai let out a heartfelt sigh as she stepped through the doorway of the temple she currently called home. The day had been as busy as ever, and she was exhausted, both physically and mentally.

"Mai!"" Mikoto's cheery shout was so routine by now that Mai was able to raise her arms to catch the grinning girl in her arms. Notwithstanding Mikoto's immediate planting of her face in Mai's chest area, of course…

"Hi, Mikoto." Mai said softly as she pried her friend off. "I'll get started on dinner right away, all right?"

Mikoto nodded, but a frown creased her innocent features. "Hey, Mai?" She questioned as she stepped back. "Is there something wrong?" She paused.

Great. Just freaking great. If she was so out of it that even Mikoto could pick it up easily, then things were definitely progressing to a far more problematic level than she had anticipated.

"Mikoto…" She began softly. "I…"

Her friend and ward glanced up, curious. "Yeah?"

"I…" Mai sighed and shook her head. "Nevermind. I had a hard day. Go find something to do and I'll make you your dinner, okay?"

Mikoto kept the frown on her face, but after a sigh and a nod, she acquiesced, and went off to her room.

Mai heaved another sigh, and went to the kitchen.

* * *

Two days later, and her worries were seriously driving Mai to the point of distraction. Never mind that Mikoto was getting increasingly dissatisfied with her terse responses to her questions, she was still stuck in a morass of indecision.

In her heart, she knew that giving up her status as an Otome would also mean sacrificing a part of what had defined her as a person. But on the other hand, Yuuichi represented an uncertain future – still filled with promises, and she didn't know if she could bear to slam the door shut upon it.

Well, if she chose her life as an Otome, she wouldn't necessarily have to cut off all contact with Yuuichi, would she? She could still see him as a friend, still go on walks together, still laugh… still ignore that tiny voice in the back of her mind crying out in frustration and agony.

She sighed again and shook her head. _Focus! Back to work!_ Her lack of attention had been cost her lately – her sloppiness led a few customers away, although thankfully it was nothing too drastic. Still, she'd best buck up soon – which would mean coming to a decision, and fa-

The explosion roared through the air and she whirled, seeking out the telltale orange glow of a fire in the vicinity – and more worryingly, the large, hulking, monstrous Slave rearing up from behind a rather tall building. As if from a distance, she heard screams.

_What? Why is there – _Her thought was abruptly cut off as a giant black tentacle reached down to pluck a piece of rubble from the ground. With a flick, it tossed the heavy piece of masonry as if it were no lighter than a feather. More screams erupted in the distance.

_Damn… this is bad._ Quickly, Mai glanced left and right before breaking out into a run. _I don't think Natsuki or Shizuru can be counted on to make a surprise appearance to save the day, can I?_

Another explosion. _Nope, thought not. Which means it's up to me, I guess._

Closing her eyes, Mai focused. Where was Mikoto, anyway? Well, the, uh, unique nature of their Otome-Master relationship made things slightly easier than most…

"Materialize!"

A blaze of light and energy later, Mai took to the skies, clad in her trademark orange Meister Robe. Taking a slight moment to feel the familiar rush of renewed energy and strength, she headed off in the direction of the giant Slave, which was still engaged in the process of wreaking havoc.

"Hey! It's the Tragic Meister! I'd recognize that scarf anywhere!"

"Wow! So she really exists! I thought the Tragic Meister was just a myth!"

"It's the Tragic Meister! We're saved!"

For a brief instant, Mai saw red, and she quickly waved it away. There were _slightly_ more important matters at stake right then. _How long am I going to be known by that stupid name? I mean, really!_ Okay, so she couldn't shake it entirely from her mind. _Natsuki, one of these days I'm going to start a stupid story about you too and we can see how YOU like it, then._

Swooping in low, she quickly used her trademark fire ring attack. It bounced off the creature to no discernable effect.

With a growl, she used the momentum from her flight to deliver a spinning kick to the Slave's back. It bounced off the creature to no discernable effect.

A frown on her forehead, she rapidly put some distance between herself and the Slave, before wreathing her own body in flame and launching a divebombing attack. It bounced off the creature to no discernable effect.

Thoroughly ticked off by now, she paused to try to figure out some other method of attack – and was promptly slapped into a nearby building by one of the monster's tentacles.

"Ow." She mumbled as she burst out from the rock heap. "Okay, this is getting stupid." Flying closer, she suddenly noted that her last attack had, in fact, left a tiny crack in the creature's metallic shell.

"Aw, heck, better than nothing." She sighed as she flew away and prepared for another round. Sometimes, that's what it all boiled down to in the end, anyway – stupid brute force.

_**CLANG! WHACK! CRUNCH! **_Over a series of repeated strikes, she finally succeeded in piercing through the tough hide of the Slave.

"One more." She panted. Steadying herself, she lunged forward, her foot impacting solidly with the tortured metal. It appeared to hold for a brief millisecond, before giving way with an agonized squeal. As quickly as Mai could, she reached forward, hurling several blasts of fire into the interior of the creature.

With a sigh of relief, she floated away from the beast, idly listening to it's dying roars as it was immolated from the inside out. Out of the corner of her eye, she noted several other Otome, already in their Robes, rushing towards the scene as quickly as they could. _About time, too._

Floating to the ground, she silently dismissed her Robe, and turned around – to nearly ram facefirst into Yuuichi, who was staring at her with an expression of utter shock.

In that single instant a dozen different emotions raced through Mai. She had to rein in a sad, feeble laugh. So he'd found out, after all.

"Mai…" The Windbloom Royal Guard appeared to have finally found his voice. "You're… you're the Tragic…"

Something inside her snapped and she turned to him, eyes flashing dangerously. "Yes! _Yes_, I know what you're going to say. For your information, yes, I _am_ an Otome. And there was nothing particularly tragic about what happened, all right? I wandered out here, got lost in the woods, and ended up in contract with the Cat Goddess of this place. Is that good enough for you?"

Her outburst was greeted with stunned silence, which, truth be told, Mai couldn't really fault.

Her shoulders slumped and she shook her head. "Just… leave me alone." She finally managed as she pushed past Yuuichi, heading back to her tiny stall.

* * *

**C****hapter End**

* * *

Thanks for reading. Please review.


	6. Chapter 5: Resolution

Choice

* * *

A part of me wonders if anyone would still pay attention to this story, given that I last updated… what, over two months ago again?

Anyway, sorry about all that. I hope you can forgive me, and I hope that the conclusion I satisfying enough for you all.

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

* * *

"Mai?"

She rolled her eyes over to look at her ward and master. "Leave me alone, Mikoto." She mumbled tiredly.

The Goddess folded her arms. "No."

Mai simply stared at her with a stupid expression on her face.

"Mai, you've changed. These past few days-" The Cat Goddess shook her head. "No, these past few _weeks_ you've barely smiled at all."

"What are you talking about?" Of course Mai had smiled – some days the amount of effort needed to keep the smile on her face had been nothing short of exhausting. "I smile a lot of them time!"

"No, I meant smiling for _real_." Mikoto folded her arms. "You think I can't tell the difference?"

Heaving a huge sigh, Mai sat up from her mattress. "Okay, fine, so maybe I've been a bit down in the dumps lately. I can't control my emotions, Mikoto. And if you're not happy with me _pretending_ to be upbeat around you, I'll drop the act, but I can't make myself really be happy by snapping my fingers."

"Then why aren't you telling me about what's making you grumpy?"

Mai paused for a moment and turned away. "You wouldn't understand." She mumbled softly.

"Wouldn't understand? I'm the Cat Goddess-"

"Who hasn't had any human contact aside from me for the past century." Mai shot back.

"Not true! There was that Yuuichi guy who-" Mikoto paused, and suddenly Mai had a terrible gnawing sensation coming from deep within her belly.

"Why'd you do that?"

"Do what?"

"Flinch when I said 'Yuuichi'."

"I didn't!"

"Yes you did." The frown on her ward's face hardened. "Is this about him? It is, isn't it? Did he do something to you?" Before Mai could react Mikoto had already stood and turned towards the doorway. "I'm going to find him and-"

"NO! Stop it, Mikoto!" Mai shot out of the bed, seizing Goddess' arm just below the shoulder. Mikoto tensed and for a moment Mai thought she was going to wrench her arm free, something that would have badly injured the Otome's hand, but apparently Mikoto thought better of it.

"Why not?" She questioned shortly.

"He hasn't done anything to me, okay?' Mai turned away. "This is just… it's something I did to myself."

"That doesn't make any sense."

"I… I know." Mai shook her head.

The Cat Goddess folded her arms as silence fell upon the room. After several long seconds she let out a dissatisfied 'hmph' and stalked out of the room, leaving Mai alone.

It took the orange haired Otome a long time to get to sleep that night.

* * *

Two days later, Mai was walking down the road to the noodle stand in the wee hours of the morning. As was customary for her at this point, she barely noticed the path ahead of her – she knew it so well she could practically walk it blindfolded.

As she rounded the corner, her eyebrows raised in a mild gesture of surprise.

"Natsuki?"

Her friend looked up from the stool she had settled herself on. "Yes, it's me." She nodded. "What, you couldn't tell? The lighting here [i]is[/i] pretty bad at this time of the day, isn't it…"

"No, no, that's not – I mean – what are you doing here?" even as she spoke she had already unlocked the door to her stand and she stepped inside.

"Welll… honestly speaking," Natsuki leaned herself against the doorway. "Mikoto came looking for me. She asked me to talk to you."

Mai closed her eyes and sighed. "Well, what about?"

"That's the thing. Mikoto doesn't know. Says you won't tell her." Natsuki continued speaking as Mai busied herself with the day's preparations. "She… uh, _enlisted_ my aid to figure out what was wrong."

Mai paused, one hand lightly grasping a ladle. "It's Yuuichi." She said shortly.

Natsuki remained silent, obviously seeking further clarification.

"He found out. That I'm an Otome." Mai shook her head and turned back to her preparations. "And ever since he did I haven't seen him at all."

"You did tell me he didn't seem to fond of us Otomes…"

Mai sighed. "I don't know what to do, Natsuki. But I think… I think it's for the best if we just dropped the matter from now on."

"Why?" Natsuki's frown deepened. "You're not acting like the Mai I know. Back when you were still in Garderobe you'd just face each of your problems head on."

"That was different." Mai countered tersely as she set another pan down. "Things were… things were simpler back then. More straightforward. You had a goal, and you just didn't stop until you hit it."

"What makes you think it's not the same now?"

"What? I like Yuuichi, but he doesn't like Otomes, which I _am_, and even if he accepts me I'll have to give up being an Otome to be with him, which I'm not entirely sure about, and even if we let _that_ slide there's still Mikoto to consider and I don't know what she'd say about all this." She fell silent, taking several deep breaths to calm herself down.

After a slight pause, Natsuki spoke up again just as Mai was beginning to think her friend might not have anything else to add. "And have you talked to them about this?"

"You know the answer. Why are you asking me?"

"Have you talked to them about this?"

Mai sighed and rolled her eyes. "No, I haven't. Satisfied?"

"No, because that's precisely the step you should be taking if you want any hope of unravelling this whole mess." Natsuki sighed and blew a strand of hair out from her eyes. "And I think you know it, too."

Mai didn't respond for a long while. Then she closed her eyes. "I guess you're right." She finally admitted grudgingly. _But it's still not going to be easy..._

* * *

One problem was, of course, finding Yuuichi again after the incident. He hadn't shown up since that day, something which Mai couldn't particularly fault him for. However, it still left her high and dry.

A part of her was still mostly concerned with what exactly she was supposed to _say_ to him. "Yeah, so I was always an Otome, I just never got the opportunity to bring it up," didn't sound like it was going to cut it.

And then there was Mikoto. She wasn't sure if the Goddess would know how to respond to the situation at hand – after all she had barely stopped her from leaving to go find and beat up Yuuichi the other day.

Well, at least she _knew_ where Mikoto was, and could talk to her about it… As Mai stepped back through the doorway of her home, she called out to her ward.

"Mikoto?"

After a moment, she poked her head around the doorway to the kitchen. "Mm?" She mumbled.

Mai winced at the iciness in Mikoto's tone. The Cat Goddess was obviously still sour about what happened the other night. She paused. "Mikoto… can we talk?"

"Oh, _now_ you want to talk." She snorted. "What about dinner?"

Right. She reined in the urge to sigh and went into the kitchen after her. _I guess it'll a bit of pacifying before we can talk…_

(X)

Later, after the two of them had finished their food, Mikoto nodded. "Okay. What's been bothering you?"

Mai hung her head. "Mikoto… I… you remember Yuuichi, right?"

"Yeah. This is what it's about, huh?" Mikoto nodded. "You said he didn't do anything to you earlier."

"Yes, that's true." She looked to the ground. "It's more like… I did it to myself. About him."

Mikoto cocked her head to one side. "I don't get it."

"… Mikoto… do you know what it means to be in love?"

The Goddess glanced down at her empty plate. "That's when two people really like each other, right? When they want to live with each other and spend all their time with each other, right?"

Mai nodded. "Correct."

Mikoto frowned. "But what does that-" Her face scrunched up. "No." She shook her head once. "Mai, you're not in _love_, are you?"

The Otome hung her head. "I wasn't sure about it before, but… yeah, I think so."

"With the Yuuichi guy?'

She hesitated. "Yeah."

Mikoto perked up. 'Wow! That's great, isn't it?"

"Eh?" Mai blinked, "You… you're okay with it?"

Mikoto beamed. "Sure! Why wouldn't I be? It's why you're so mopey these days, right?" She nodded once. "Mai, if it makes you happy, then I'm happy too."

"…Mikoto, if I… that may mean I get to spend less time with you, you know."

"Of course I know!" Mikoto stuck her tongue out. "I'm not _stupid_. But you'll still be living here, right? I'll still be able to see you everyday." Mikoto grinned. "And if Yuuichi does anything to make you cry I can beat him up for you."

Mai chuckled nervously at that, but inside she felt as if a great weight had lifted from her heart.

Well, not completely… she would still need to face Yuuichi himself. As she cleared the plates and bowls away, she silently wondered what she was supposed to say to him.

* * *

The sun rose bright two days later as Mai made her daily pilgrimage down to her noodle stand. As she walked past rows of other people silently setting up their own stands, she wondered about why she was still hesitating.

The registry at Windbloom castle would have noted where Yuuichi stayed, she should be able to find him easily enough, but something in her still held her back.

She swallowed. "Today," She promised herself. "First thing after work, I'll-"

She came to her stand and found Yuuichi leaning against it, subconsciously massaging the scar on his arm. He gave a noticeable start as she came into his line of view.

"Mai." He said softly.

There was a pregnant pause. And then she nodded. "Yuuichi."

He sighed and glanced down at the ground. "Haven't seen you in a while, huh."

Mai turned away and stepped towards her stand. "I had a lot to think about."

Both of them were being reserved. On guard. _Well, this is awkward_, Mai thought unhappily. The only way they were going to be able to get past this was by facing the problem. Swallowing, past a throat that seemed far too dry, she turned and opened her mouth to speak.

Somewhat to her surprise, Yuuichi beat her to the punch. "I… uh, Mai, I need to tell you something, I need to get it off my chest first."

She paused. "All right…"

He clenched his fists. "Mai, I… I'm sorry if I've hurt you."

Mai blinked. "Hurt me? What do you mean?"

"All that stuff I said about the Otomes. I'm sorry if I hurt your feelings." He ran one hand through his messy hair. "In fact, that was why I stayed away… I wasn't sure if you would want to see me again."

Wow. And here she had been worried about herself driving _him_ away. "I guess… I should apologize too. For not telling you I was one of them. An Otome, I mean."

He nodded thoughtfully. "I… guess that makes us even, huh."

"Yeah," She nodded. But no, there was something… he was still holding back.

"Yuuichi?" She questioned softly. "Is there something else?"

"Wh – er, no. No, there isn't." Such a transparent lie was rather surprising, and she frowned.

"Yuuichi." She repeated, more firmly.

He glanced away. "No, seriously, don't bother. It'll just save the both of us pain."

She sighed and ran a hand through her hair. "All right, then _I_ have something to tell you, okay?" She hesitated, wondering if she could really go through with it, and then she shook herself mentally. She'd already made her decision, after all. All that was left was to communicate it.

"Yuuichi… I like you."

There was complete silence. Mai swallowed and pushed on.

"I don't know how or why this started. All I know is that I like… I like being with you. I like seeing you smile. I like talking to you. I like just hanging out, being in your presence." She glanced down. "I like you… even enough… to give up being an Otome. Even enough to give up my power."

There. She'd lain herself completely bare before Yuuichi, and the only question would be how he would respond.

After a long moment, he chuckled, a low uncertain sound in the predawn gloom. "Wow," he finally said. "I… uh, talk about serendipity."

_Huh?_

"Mai… I like you as well." He glanced away. "But I couldn't ask you to give up your Otomehood for my sake. I wasn't going to make that demand of you. But now…"

A bubbly, joyful sensation could be felt deep within her chest. Did he mean…?

With a cry of joy she launched herself at him, arms wrapping around him tightly, and for the first time in nearly two months she felt perfectly contented.

* * *

"And all's well that ends well." Natsuki commented wryly as she took a long swallow from her drink. "Told you it was simple when you got down to it."

"So when's the wedding?" Shizuru asked, a smile on her face.

"Come off it," Mai grinned back. "We're not even officially engaged yet."

"Anyway!" Natsuki clapped her hands. "I think we've wasted quite enough of your time. You have a date with him tonight, don't you?"

"Yeah, I'm bringing him to the top of Crescent Peak, and then we'll be having a picnic there."

"Crescent Peak?" Shizuru raised an eyebrow. "How will you-?'

"My nanomachines aren't gone _yet_, you know." Mai grinned. "It won't take me five minutes to get there."

"Hm. But sooner or later…"

Mai nodded slowly. "All the more reason to cherish it while it's still there, don't you think?" With a cheery wave goodbye, she was gone.

Natsuki swirled the amber liquid in her glass a bit longer. "I love happy endings." She said. "Don't you?"

"I do indeed." Shizuru looked at the direction Mai was heading off to. "I do indeed."

* * *

**Story End**

* * *

Ironically this ending feels rushed despite taking so long…

Oh well, please review. Thanks.


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